Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Big Browns Last Sunday and Doug Jeffries' Question

My good bud Doug Jeffries knew I was going fishing last Sunday and on Monday asked me how I did. I fished with Ed Huson who had just returned from the Sea Hunter liveaboard Sea Hunter Nov. 2011 in the Bahamas. They had had a great, if a bit windy, trip. But that's another story.

I've known Ed for years and have always enjoyed his company. We took a very relaxed approach to the day and goofed around a fair bit trying new patterns and techniques. We fished a new stretch of water for me near Buffalo, Wyoming (its name shall remain nameless).

So back to Doug, he asked me on Monday how we did and I told him I had caught 10-15 fish with three browns being over 20". It was a great day. Doug asked me if we had used dry flies.

Here was my answer to him:

Hi Doug,

I used a #2 sofa pillow with a prince nymph dropper. I had seen some stoneflies emerging recently and thought a big stonefly dry might work and also could act to attract attention to my nymph.

I dead drifted the dry/nymph dropper rig on a fairly tight line (we always called it high sticking, but with the rig we use and how we drag the nymph through runs on a very short line, now most people refer to it as the Czech technique) then skated the sofa pillow back up stream a bit. Most of my hits were on the nymph, but I caught two 20+" fish waking the big sofa pillow. It was like steelhead fishing a waking bomber! Maybe they thought it was a mouse... maybe a fluttering stonefly? Who cares! It worked.

About Me

Scott Heywood has explored the world, not only as a world class mountaineer and an elite white water kayaker, but also as a fly fisherman, having always managed to conceal a travel rod somewhere in his gear.
He was inducted into the Explorers Club in 1994. As an owner, trip host and photographer for Angling Destinations, Inc., Scott has fished all over the world both in fresh and saltwater for the last 35 years in search of great fly fishing opportunities. From the Seychelles to Kamchata and from Mongolia to French Polynesia, Scott has found great fishing, stunning scenery, a dazzling array of animal life and many great friends.
These days, Scott can be found traveling the world looking for new, remote water with big, naive fish.